Opinion

Editorials

We went to three Obama fundraising parties last week, and there’s another one scheduled for this week. As the polls look better and better, the atmosphere has changed from apprehension to a carefully modulated exhilaration. One of our hostesses, an elegant African-American classical singer whose husband is a professor, no hippie she, confessed that though she seldom has visions, she had experienced a clear mental image of Obama’s inauguration ball which she took as a sign that he was going to win. Her party, co-hosted in Oakland by an assortment of young couples, featured comedy-show videos starring Tina Fey and others projected on the wall. General hilarity prevailed, and $3,500 was added to Obama’s war chest, contributed by people who didn’t seem to be the idle affluent. And yet, our hostess confessed, she still wakes up in the middle of the night worrying about the election.
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There are a lot of good reasons to vote no on Measure LL, but perhaps the best one is that the campaign to pass it is based on lies. Measure LL would repeal our current, green Landmarks Preservation Ordinance (LPO) and put in its place a loophole-laden ordinance, designed to expedite the demolition of our historic homes and neighborhoods. The fact that proponents refer to it as a landmarks preservation ordinance may be the biggest lie of all. That’s because if a developer chooses the right options among the new and confusing bureaucratic procedures for landmarking, a historic building could be cleared for demolition before the public even knows what’s going on. In effect, Measure LL provides a means to keep historic structures from being preserved.
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Sen. Barack Obama recently made public a video (http://my.barackobama.com/keatingvideo) outlining Senator John McCain’s role in the Keating Five scandal. The release may be in response to the personal attacks on Obama by McCain and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin. Bringing up McCain’s role now isn’t just about the past because his role in that scandal has possible implications to the present financial crisis. The video shows McCain as someone who helped out a constituent, Charles Keating, while—just like today—taxpayers got stuck with the bill. Is his admitted poor judgment then an indication as to how he would handle the current financial crisis as president? You will have to decide that on Nov. 4.
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The two opposing mayoral candidates both have had the position of mayor, both with highly marred terms. First, let’s revisit the Shirley Dean administration which started off with Mrs. Dean not giving up her job with the largest employer in the town (UC Berkeley) while mayor. Can you say conflict of interest? One might say that Shirley Dean is the Dick Cheney of Berkeley. Even Dick Cheney quit Halliburton before taking the vice president’s job after awarding most of the post-war contracts to his former employer. It got worse when Mrs. Dean decided to go after our favorite city councilmember (at that time), Kriss Worthington. She decided to go to Mr. Worthington’s alma mater (in Ohio) posing as his aunt to pull information to get dirt on Mr. Worthington and had it sent to her summer home in Lake Tahoe. Mrs. Dean has also had her share of backroom deals with developers.
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For close to 30 years I have worked my way up the ranks from teen youth worker in a child care program in the Mission District to the position that I have held for over 20 years, as Executive Director. I have worked for BAHIA Inc., located in West Berkeley since 1980. This year I celebrate 28 years with the organization. My work most of my adult life has been in Berkeley, and I live within walking distance from my child care center.
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With so much discussion about transportation planning in Berkeley focused on details like street width, the number of on-street parking spaces, or the decision-making process, it’s easy to lose the sight of the big picture. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a regional system that will serve the interconnected East Bay. Even though I live in Oakland, I am one of the many people outside of Berkeley’s borders affected by its transportation decisions. I ask Berkeleyans, when thinking about the transit questions posed on their November ballot, to consider their neighbors in Oakland and San Leandro who use regional buses.
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Berkeley residents who are interested in swimming and who care about public recreation for youth have something to cheer about. City of Berkeley staff, Berkeley Unified School District, PTA representatives, neighborhood pool representatives, Park and Recreation and Disability Commissioners, and representatives of the warm pool are sitting down together as a citywide Pools Task Force.
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